AFC Wild Card Recap: Steelers Stun Bengals; Chiefs Rout Texans

The first day of the NFL playoffs saw two drastically different games. Here’s a recap of the action from Saturday:

Pittsburgh 18, Cincinnati 16

Chris Boswell kicked a 35-yard field goal with 14 seconds to play, and the Pittsburgh Steelers rallied to beat the Bengals, 18-16, to cap off a wacky ending to the AFC wild-card game in rainy Cincinnati on Saturday night.

Back-to-back 15-yard personal foul penalties on the Bengals — on Vontaze Burfict and Adam Jones — allowed Pittsburgh to move into position for Boswell’s game-winning boot, extending Cincinnati’s postseason losing streak to 25 years and counting.

The Bengals seemed to have the game all but won, leading 16-15 and with possession of the ball after Burfict intercepted Steelers’ quarterback Landry Jones with 1:43 left. However, Cincinnati’s Jeremy Hill's fumbled on the next play to give Pittsburgh a final chance to rally.

Steelers’ quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, who missed time in the second half with an injured right shoulder, returned to lead his team’s final drive, which was augmented by the personal foul calls on Burfict and Jones.

Pittsburgh led 15-0 before the Bengals rallied to take a 16-15 lead when A.J. McCarron threw a 25-yard touchdown pass to A.J. Green with 1:50 left.

Antonio Brown had seven catches for 119 yards for the Steelers, who will travel to Denver to face the Broncos next Sunday.

Kansas City 30, Houston 0

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The Kansas City defense forced Brian Hoyer into five turnovers, and the Chiefs shut out the Texans, 30-0, in the AFC wild-card game in Houston on Saturday.

Knile Davis returned the opening kickoff 106 yards for a touchdown to set the tone for Kansas City. The Chiefs’ win — their 11th consecutive victory this season — was the franchise’s first in the postseason since 1994.

Hoyer threw three interceptions and lost a fumble in the first half, and Kansas City got two 49-yard field goals from Cairo Santos to take a 13-0 halftime lead.

Chiefs quarterback Alex Smith completed 17 of 22 passes for 190 yards and a second-half touchdown. KC running back Spencer Ware added a five-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter.

Houston wasn’t able to find the end zone all game. Hoyer threw his fourth interception with 6:25 to play. He finished 15-of-34 for 136 yards on the game.

The Chiefs advanced to next weekend’s divisional round of the AFC playoffs; they’ll face the Patriots in New England next Saturday.